“The Colonisation of Colour: Berlin and Kay’s Colour Categories in Pacific Languages” presented by Dodgson, Chen and Zahido
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Art, Nature, and Perception (short papers)
Presentation Title:
- The Colonisation of Colour: Berlin and Kay's Colour Categories in Pacific Languages
Presentation Subtheme:
- Shifting temporalities
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
Berlin and Kay propose that there are basic colour terms in any language. These terms split the range of all colours into categories, such as reds, greens, and blues. Different languages may have different categories that split the range of colours in different ways. A meeting of cultures can lead to changes in how a language categorises colour. Across the Pacific, today, we see educational material that purports to teach colour in the indigenous languages, but they tend to categorise colour into the Western European categories, using loan words or repurposed words to describe colour categories that did not exist in that language prior to colonisation. While languages always evolve, indigenous communities’ adoption of the Western European basic colour categories can lead to misunderstandings when considering historic writings, historic artworks, or traditional artistic practice. This paper is to raise awareness of that issue so that we can understand that today’s understanding of colour is not necessarily that of previous generations.
